Sevilla Cathedral options

According to its website:

“Rooftops tour (includes admission to the Cathedral, Giralda and Salvador Church)

This guided tour is a journey through time. During this time with your guide you will learn about the construction of the cathedral between the 15th and 16th centuries. Get to know the Cathedral from above, take a walk through its rooftops, walk through passageways, enjoy the panoramic views offered by the architecture of the Cathedral and its urban environment. Do not miss it!”

We went on the Rooftop Tour last month and highly recommend it. In fact, it was one of our top highlights of the entire trip.

The guide gives lots of detail about the cathedral and architecture. It is at a good pace, not rushed, and it is a small group. We chose the tour at 20:00, which was a good choice because we were up top for a nice sunset as a bonus.

Here are the notes taken from our tickets regarding entrance:

If you wish to visit the Cathedral and Giralda prior to your visit to the Roofs, we recommend that you, on the same day of your visit,
go to Puerta del Lagarto, on-line access, during cultural visits (see timetable on the official Web page www.catedraldesevilla.es ).
If your guided tour to The Roofs is done in the afternoon, you will not have time later to visit the Cathedral and the Giralda. In that
case, following the instructions of the accompanying guide, you can use the same entry ticket, for that purpose, the next day

Here is what we experienced. We decided to visit the inside of the cathedral on the same day as our rooftop tour. We had our tickets printed out. At each of the various entrances, we were told to go to a different entrance. Around the Cathedral we walked. About the third time, I politely (and possibly a little pathetically) said that we keep getting told a different entrance. (I think the first folks were telling us where to line up for the rooftop tour that night, not realizing we wanted to go inside right then.) At any rate, we were eventually given "skip the line" treatment and we got inside.

After visiting the inside, we then went up to the Giralda.

So, we did not have a timed entrance to the Cathedral or Giralda but with persistence we were given entrance.

I am happy to answer any other questions. Enjoy!

I went on the rooftop tour 2 weeks ago and had no issue accessing the cathedral the same day prior to the tour. I entered at the main entrance, and my ticket was recognized as valid even though it wasn't timed. To climb the Giralda, I simply followed everyone else heading in that direction, there was no additional ticket check when I was there. Although I didn't find the cathedral itself particularly memorable, I did enjoy the rooftop tour, really interesting viewpoints and history.

Thank you so much for the very helpful responses! Two followup questions: Would the Giralda climb be redundant, or complementary, to the rooftop tour? How strenuous is the Giralda climb (for reasonably vigorous 70+ year olds)?

I would say the Giralda climb is very doable for reasonably vigorous 70 year olds! I just did it in April during a heat wave with a mild case of asthma and I survived. Had to stop in the middle to take a break and a puff from my inhaler lol. There’s places where you can stop and be out of the way of the crowd. It’s about 30 ramps and a few steps to the top and well worth it!

As stated, the Giralda has ramps rather than stairs. The ramps were so horses could be ridden to the top. The view will be similar to that of the rooftop tour.

Trying to figure out how/when we can visit the Cathedral and also have a guided visit of the rooftop (decks?) in late October. We arrive in the afternoon on Thursday, October 19th and depart sometime on Monday, October 23rd. We're pretty booked on Friday, October 20th with a walking tour in the morning and flamenco ticket in the evening, so we're hoping to slot in the Cathedral on Saturday or Sunday and it appears that the decks guided visits on those days are only in the evening. Thoughts on whether to do the evening tour or just visit on our own? also, this is probably a stupid question, but what is the Giralda and how does that figure in to the visit overall?
thanks so much!

The Giralda is a tower beside the cathedral. It used to be a minaret when a mosque was on the site. It was converted to a bell tower after the Moors were expelled from Spain. From it you are higher than the cathedral roof so get a good view of it. If you can’t get a rooftop tour in the time you have, going up to the top of the Giralda is just as good. To me, the views are better than they would be if standing on the roof.

I’ve never taken the rooftop tour, but have been to the top of the Giralda tower probably 8 times (I used to live a hour south of Sevilla) and never felt I missed anything by not taking the tour. There are good photos of the views from the Giralda on TripAdvisor.

Thanks, everyone! All of the input is much appreciated.

You're welcome. I hope you have a wonderful trip!

Just to follow up on a couple of additional questions: we enjoyed the inside of the cathedral, the Giralda view, and the rooftop tour. Yes, there is a certain redundancy with the views from both the Giralda and the rooftop tour. The Giralda looks down onto the rooftop, so that is cool. However, the experience is quite different because the tour itself is very good and adds a lot of value. So we would do all 3 again if asked.

Also, as to the difficulty ascending the Giralda and the rooftop tour: they both require some lung power. One 70s-ish lady in our rooftop tour had to take it slow because of some kind of pain or weakness. I assumed it was her hip or knee. Lots of steep stairs, but the guide divides the tour into 3 levels, so plenty of time to rest between climbs and no rushing. The Giralda climb is as stated, a series of ramps. And you can go at your own pace, stopping to look out at various levels.

Thank you so much, SunnyBlueFlax! Your responses are much appreciated.

Just a note that although the climb to the top of the Giralda wasn't too strenuous, I would only consider it first thing in the morning, as when you reach the top, you need to step onto little ledges to actually see the views, and if it's crowded, you'll be waiting quite a while. Overall, not a pleasant experience compared to the rooftops tour.

Great tip, thanks!

In the 17th edition of Rick Steve’s Spain, he mentions a few locals who give guided tours in Seville. Concepcion Delgado, and Julia Rozet. He lists websites and or email but I am not have any luck contacting these guides. Does anyone know if they are still operating?
Thanks!!
J Lawson

To piggy-back on the this question - is it east to hear during the rooftop tour? Looks like it can be at least 20 people? It looks like a 90-minute tour - correct? That seems fairly long, especially if doing the cathedral the same day as well. Thanks!

There are no problems hearing on the tour because everyone is given a headset and audio device.

Followup question: If you do the AM rooftop tour, are you able to stay in the Cathedral to explore or must you exit and return at a later time? Thanks.

Update, from the Cathedral de Sevilla reservation staff:

“You can visit the cathedral and the tower at one time and only once, but you can do it before the rooftops or after.
If when you go down the cathedral is closed you can do it the day after. You donnot have to queue, with your ticket you go straight to the entrance.”